


The Apple

by StarGazerGamer



Series: Forbidden Fruit [3]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 09:12:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11666100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarGazerGamer/pseuds/StarGazerGamer
Summary: Colin and Jaal have to work together to help Heleus be a safer place for everyone.  Follow along as their relationship blossoms under some of the harshest conditions they've ever faced.





	The Apple

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter pretty much follows the First Contact in the game pretty much word for word. The second chapter onwards will focus on the relationship and in between times. Some of the fic will sync up with my other one The Serpent at times.
> 
> The cover art is done by Laur-rants on Tumblr. Definitely check out the link (until I can figure out how to freaking do this new image share thing)
>
>> [View post on imgur.com](//imgur.com/QHOBAWh)

“Hey Colin. How are you handling things?” Liam strolled into the Pathfinder’s quarters in the Tempest. He saw the Pathfinder standing by the desk, looking lost. His shoulders drooped and his eyes were almost expressionless. Colin had been through so much in a short period of time.

“I’m as fine as I can be. My Dad died and suddenly made _me_ Pathfinder. Which is still a decision I can’t comprehend. Then I find out that my sister, the only other family I have is an exile.” Colin ran an agitated hand through his blond hair. He felt the frustration well up within him, the same kind that tied his tongue in knots when he was a little kid. “I-I just can’t do this Liam. How am I going to h-handle being the Pathfinder?” Colin grimaced as the words tripped a bit on his tongue. It had taken years of practice and constant work to bring it down. He only tripped up now and then when he was really stressed, such as now.

“Hey, it’s okay. No one expects you to be perfect yeah?” Liam told him but he saw Colin’s head shake.

“You heard Addison. She practically said that I should have died and not my Dad.” Bitterness turned his tongue to ash as he remembered the look on Addison’s face. He wished he could tell her how he really felt about her _attitude,_ but there wasn’t anything he could do. The Initiative looked to him for pulling their asses out of the fire and it looked like he had no choice but to remain polite to her. Then there were the things Tann had said about Cerise, and Colin had wanted to punch a man for the first time in his life. He was normally a very peaceful person and preferred to talk his way out of situations, but what Tann said was inexcusable. _If your sister was lucky, she was already dead before she reached one of the exile planets._

Liam saw the tension in Colin’s shoulders and the rage clouding in his eyes. The Pathfinder was remembering what Tann had said about his sister. Liam hadn’t been present for that one, but he’d heard from Cora what the director had said. Liam knew that went beyond a line even for Tann, wishing someone was dead was too much. It begged the question of what Ryder’s sister did to earn that kind of ire from Tann.

“Ryder. Can you come to the bridge?” Kallo’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Colin blinked a few times as if to orient himself. He told Kallo he’d be there momentarily and headed up the ladder. They’d cleared Eos’s skies and established the first outpost there, and now they were headed to another point. They needed to find the other operational vault to see about a link. It was the only real piece of evidence they had that these vaults were beneficial.

The ship came out of the FTL drive, directly in front of a huge kett vessel. The ship came to a screeching halt in front of the ship, almost taking Colin to the ground. “Kett ships, a dozen. Probably more.” Suvi murmured in awe.

“They’ve got us pinned against the Scourge. Ryder.” Nerves shook Kallo’s voice as they all saw the huge ship floating in front of them. _“They are scanning us Pathfinder.”_

“Well, scan them back damn it!” Colin retorted. Maybe not his _finest_ moment, but he’d never been that great at thinking on his feet. The image flickered on the screen and Colin almost recoiled from it. This kett resembled the others they’d encountered but was far more intelligent. Colin could see the intelligence in the creature’s eyes as it spoke.

“Where is the one that activated the Remnant?” Colin heard footsteps rapidly approaching as the rest of the team joined him on the bridge. He didn’t look away for fear of giving away some weakness. “The DNA signature is there, answer me.” Impatience threaded the voice. Or at least, Colin thought it was impatience. The kett was speaking with some inflection but there wasn’t much. It was almost a monotone. Colin clenched his jaw and glared at the screen.

“You’re the one in my way. Who are you?” Colin demanded. Cora stopped Liam from making any sudden moves, they had to be smart about this enemy. There were too many unknown variables, and Colin certainly wasn’t helping the situation by mouthing off to it. He heard a deep laugh come over the comms before the consoles went red.

“They’ve locked navigation.” Suvi’s fingers were already flying over the console in an attempt to break their lock. Kallo was one the other side assisting as Cora glanced over at it.

“We’re being steered into their ship.” Kallo grimaced as he saw there was not a way they could break the lock. Not without SAM’s help anyway. Colin curled his lip in frustration as he turned to face the projection on the front windows of the ship.

“Just tell me what you want!”

“I won’t explain what you can’t understand.” Frustration churned in Colin’s body and his fist flickered with soft indigo light. His biotics flared up when he was stressed to the max, the same as Cora’s. He took a calming breath but it did little to ease the helpless fury roiling in his body.

 _Pathfinder, I have almost regained control of the ship. I need a few more seconds._ Colin could have kissed SAM with that information as the words rolled through his mind. The fury died down as hope for getting out of the situation replaced it. Colin turned to the kett, intent on giving SAM those precious few seconds. Colin figured he could tease the kett with what he knew about the Remnant. That seemed to be what it focused on.

“I actually know a lot about the Remnant. We should exchange notes.” His tone dripped sarcasm as he wasn’t going to give an inch in this tug of war. Cora almost rolled her eyes at Colin’s tone but she was too busy assisting Suvi to make a comment.

“Enough. Your defiance is naïve and reckless. This day marks the beginning of your greatness.” The image faded out as Colin realized the kett was completely serious. He’d have to analyze that phrasing a little later as they had more pressing matters to attend to.

“SAM?” _“I have plotted a potential course through the Scourge.”_ “Do it!” Colin didn’t see any other way out of this. The Tempest, with its speed and maneuverability, had a greater chance of coming on the other side than that bulky flagship did. This was their only chance at survival and he was taking it. The trip was choppy and the Tempest took damage. Kallo got them through the Scourge with a victorious cry.

“Nice work kid.” Drack laughed as he straightened from his perch against the wall. Kallo looked back in surprise at the compliment from the krogan.

“Yeah, but who the _hell_ was that guy!?” Before anyone could comment Gil’s voice broke over the intercom.

“Hey Ryder. We’ve got trouble down here! You need to find us a port now!” Gil wasn’t the type for hysterics so everyone knew that was serious. The engine must’ve taken a beating being pushed to the limit like that and with the Scourge nipping at the Tempest’s heels, so to speak. Colin ran a hand through his hair in irritation.

“Great. Where we end up anyway?”

“Sensors are damaged but I think we’re at the vault’s coordinates.” Suvi answered as Peebee peered over her shoulder. Colin blew out an exasperated breath, their luck wasn’t holding up much these days.

“You think?” He shook his head, he didn’t mean to be snappy. Colin sent an apologetic glance towards Suvi who nodded in acknowledgement. She understood he was stressed with everything that was going on. He knew the sensors were damaged but they had to rely on what information they did have. “Gil, give it what you can. We’re setting down.” Gil grumbled over the comm but he would do his best to keep the Tempest afloat. He just hoped that if there was any life on the planet below them, that it wouldn’t be hostile.

“Ryder.” Cora’s sharp intake of breath told him all he needed to know as the ships appeared from the clouds. The language was foreign but the intent was clear. They were being escorted.

“Well shit. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.” Liam murmured as the Tempest landed on the planet. The view was breathtaking as the Initiative scouting vessel set down at the docking bay. The vivid jewel tones against the brilliant blue sky announced this planet’s vault was still functional. Colin worried about the vaults being such a requisite for life to exist in Heleus, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Well, time to make contact. If I get eaten, even if it’s hilarious, please delete the vids.” Colin joked as he headed towards the cargo bay’s ramp.

“Not funny!” Liam yelled out after him as Colin walked with his hands up as armed aliens rushed at him.

 _I really hope this doesn’t become a trend…_ Colin thought to himself as he allowed himself to be escorted towards the stairs. Colin did his best to remain calm and spoke more formally than he was used to, but it seemed appropriate. One of the aliens, _angara_ , came right up and glowered in his face. Colin wasn’t used to having someone so close to his face, those sapphire colored eyes studying him carefully. It unnerved him and his heart kicked up in his chest as old doubts pounded at his head, could he make it through the meeting without making a fool of himself? He seriously hoped he could, but the jury was still out.

Colin watched as he seemed to pass whatever test he was being scrutinized for. He followed the female angara through the city, studying it with SAM telling him about the city’s ecosystem as they went. The angaran man who approached, Jaal, spoke to another Resistance recruit as he entered the building.

“Our experience with the kett makes us naturally distrustful of aliens.” Colin could understand that sentiment.

“We’ve had our own run ins with the kett.” Though it made anxiety rush through him, Colin kept eye contact with Jaal through the conversation. He was normally a bit more reserved when he first met people, but some instinct told him that eye contact would be crucial for this meeting.

“Then, you really do understand. When the Archon came to Heleus, he demolished our sovereign state, took what he wanted as if we were _nothing_. Now the kett mercilessly abduct angara. Often, we never see our people again. Come this way, Evfra is waiting.” Jaal felt the anger simmering inside him at the mere thought of the kett. He would reserve judgment on this human, seeing the uncanny resemblance to the human he was acquainted with. He knew there were humans that would kill without hesitation just as there were good humans. The kett made the angara, as a race, distrustful. Jaal would never trust anyone blindly, and he wasn’t so certain he would trust the Initiative. That was still up for debate, but now he almost pitied the man standing in front of him.

“Wait, the kett kidnap you? They _steal_ your people?” Colin was finding it difficult to wrap his mind around what kind of life that would be like. Faced each day, not knowing if you or your loved ones would be taken. _A hellish nightmare_ , was the closest he could come up with.

“And the Resistance fights them every day with everything we can.” Jaal noticed their bodies were moving in sync with one another, an odd feeling. Though he just met the alien, he felt as if he could trust him. A preposterous notion as this human had yet to prove himself.

“Wait, is it attrition? What are they after?” Colin felt himself babbling as his thoughts whirled in his own mind. He cursed his inability to let a silence be drawn out.

“You should save your questions for Evfra.” That was just _not_ what Colin wanted to hear. From everything he’d overheard and been told, this Evfra was feared and respected among the people on Aya. Colin never did well with intimidating people, except Tann. He _really_ didn’t like Tann. Tann could kiss his ass after what he did to Cerise. _Calm down Colin. You can do this._ Colin repeated that in his head as he approached the table and overheard some of the talk there.

“Kadara be damned. I won’t lose Voeld. Send the request through.” The other angaran stood facing a communications terminal. He was speaking harshly to a subordinate. “I don’t care what your personal feelings are about this. Send it through.”

“Evfra, this is one of the aliens from the Milky Way- a Pathfinder.” Jaal watched as Evfra turned to face them. The same astonished look came over his face as had Jaal’s when he noticed the hair and eyes. The exact shade of another Milky Way alien. Evfra’s astonishment went further as he remembered seeing the man in the photograph on her bookshelf. His eyes looked over Colin, wondering how much he was like his sister. Given how the Initiative treated the exiles, he was not going to trust anyone from the Initiative. He knew there would be wisdom in partnering with them, _if_ they could provide to be a useful ally. The whole thing came down to if the Initiative would keep its word or not. He did not know the Pathfinder as well as he knew the Pathfinder’s sister.

“A Pathfinder?” He looked down to measure Colin’s worth, and Colin felt his nerves shake again. He hated it when anyone gave him that measuring look, it was equal measures disdainful and thinly veiled contempt. He _knew_ he didn’t measure up to his Dad, but here he was. He wondered who Evfra was measuring him against with that quiet gaze. “It’s an aggressive move, coming to Aya.”

Colin took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. It wouldn’t be professional if he just ran with his gut, even his father had to think on his words. “It wasn’t meant that way. I have an ark full of people counting on me to find them a home before they starve.” Colin’s voice remained as neutral as he could manage it.

“Of course. I feel for you and your people.” Evfra did understand their struggles. He’d seen the reports that Shena could gather about the Nexus. It appeared as though the leadership was toxic, not the people. “So, Pathfinder. Never mind that you found us, why are you here?” That was the burning question in Evfra’s mind. How was it that Ryder’s twin found his way to Aya when that stubborn woman refused his invitation? The other question burning in his mind was _how was he going to tell her?_

“On a hostile planet called Eos I explored an ancient structure, a vault, and brought it back online. It stabilized that planet’s environment.” Jaal perked up at that. He had some contacts on Havarl that had monitored a similar structure on that planet’s surface.

“Remnant? Recent intelligence supports that claim.”

“If I’m right, there’s a vault on Aya that’s different. I need to look inside.” Colin had a feeling the answer would be no. He had to ask anyway because the Initiative was counting on him, all those lives were counting on _him_ to find a suitable home for them. The weight of that responsibility was suffocating at times, and it was hard to remember to breath. He only hoped that this Evfra truly understood his predicament. This angaran man merely stood, his emotions held in check, as he studied Colin’s face.

Evfra understood the struggles for one’s people. He could see it in those eerie silver eyes. Understood it, better than the human could know. That still did not mean he would simply trust him with any kind of knowledge of Aya, not without first knowing that his word would be kept. He supposed he could ask Cerise about her brother, but that was a situation he was not going to get into. There were doubts between them, and he needed to think about how to proceed with this. He turned towards the window to gather his thoughts on how to answer the Pathfinder.

“You’re right. There’s a vault out there, but it was shut years ago. The entrance was hidden.” Colin stood beside Evfra to stare out at the landscape of Aya. Lush jungles of vibrant emerald leaves broken by the jewel tones of the flowers stretched for miles. “We can’t help you.” Colin knew this was coming, but it was still a sting. Tension rose between the two men, an almost palpable crackle between them.

“The Moshae could. She’s our most revered scientist and elder. She knows this vault.” Jaal broke the tension between them. He knew the Moshae was gone, kidnapped by the kett, but there was something in him that told him this man could help them.

“But now the kett have her and our rescue attempts have failed. She’s lost to us. And to you.” Evfra explained to Colin. They had tried to rescue the Moshae, but the facility seemed to be impossible to breach. Evfra went to stand by Colin as he needed to walk off the aggravation. Failure never sat well on his shoulders. He wanted to bring her back, but he knew, as all angara did, that those taken by the kett were never seen again.

“There must be another way. How can I convince you? Can I offer help?” Colin spoke without thinking, he let his emotions do the talking for him. He needed to get into that vault and he’d do whatever it took, short of murder, to get into it. He saw Evfra’s shoulders tense and his stomach dropped. He’d said the wrong thing.

“Arrogant. I don’t know you, let alone trust you. Why would I want your help?” Evfra snarled at Colin. The gall this man had to imply the Resistance needed _his_ help was appalling. It offended his pride and he would be damned if he’d give an inch. Colin backed down immediately at that anger, realizing his mistake.

“Of course.” The charged silence drew out for a moment before Jaal broke it with his words.

“Evfra, I feel. Evfra, what this alien says is extraordinary.” Evfra refrained from rolling his eyes at Jaal’s words, barely. “The Moshae would want us to be brave and not let this chance pass.” Evfra heaved a sigh as he knew Jaal was right, but he hated giving an inch. Especially in front of the alien.

“Jaal, you talk too much.”

“Let me assess this alien. I’ll be your eyes. I know you can spare me.” The truth was a bitter taste in Jaal’s mouth. His position in the Resistance was not what he had hoped, but he also knew he didn’t feel it as passionately as his family or as Evfra did. He felt out of place and if he could find it with the human. Stranger things had happened.

“Go if you want. But when he tries to kill you… Be prepared to strike first.” Evfra told him as he was called away by another Resistance member.

“Evfra.” Jaal’s voice halted his exit. “Will you tell her?” Evfra continued on as if he did not hear Jaal. Jaal sighed and looked towards Colin, whose eyes were clouded with confusion. This would be interesting. Jaal wondered how the twins differed from one another and what the others on this ship were like. He would have to find out for himself, now that he had been so bold as to volunteer to be aboard the alien’s ship.

“I’m Jaal ama Darav. I’ll be your envoy through angaran space.”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“I don’t trust you. But I can always kill you in your sleep.” Jaal explained.

 _I shall ensure your doors are locked during the night cycle on the Tempest Pathfinder._ SAM’s voice through their private channel was a relief as a chill went down Colin’s spine at those words. He had no doubt the angaran man would not hesitate to kill him if given the chance.

“Good to know.” Colin walked towards the docking area. He had no clue why he was doing this, but it would get him into that vault. If saving the angaran elder would help secure relations between their species, then he’d damn well go save her. Colin only hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

**Author's Note:**

> Colin art done by CaptainCerenna on Tumblr! Amazing artist!
>
>>  
>> 
>> [View post on imgur.com](//imgur.com/Dp72BnD)  
> 


End file.
